Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Whoa. Big news from MakeMusic.

I don't know about your district, but mine has really gone in for Chromebooks. We are 1:1 with that family of devices in my building (grades 5-7) and will hopefully be there next fall with 8-12.

That has actually been a problem in my corner of the building as a SmartMusic user. Chromebooks just didn't run SmartMusic. iPads could, Windows and Macs could. Just not Chromebooks. It had something to do with not being able to install anything on a Chromebook... At least, that's what I was hearing from people off the record.

We have been getting kids hooked up with subscriptions and then they would have to find another device to run SmartMusic other than their Chromebook. I'm sure that is really popular with the parents. (Where is that sarcasm punctuation?) The kid has a device that doesn't work in all classes for school work. The easiest advice to give kids was use your iPad, not your Chromebook.

While staying up late and reading a little Tom Clancy, (Don't you love summer break?) I heard my e-mail chime and the folks over at SmartMusic were sending out a PR blast. They have acquired Weezic, who have apparently solved some of MakeMusic's issues with Chromebooks!

Is it ready to go? Doesn't say. When? Probably will be a while until it is running, I'm guessing. But it is really exciting news and I think it solves a bunch of issues for my program. Will it work well here? I don't know. The units we have are pretty "sketchy" as far as speed and sound cards-- according to my students. To give you an idea, I have had kids bring their personal iPads to class instead of their Chromebook. Will this run well at home? Hopefully, all my families have a great ISP and are on fast connections.

Yes, there probably are a number of things yet to happen. Still, I am excited. It is good to see this news from SmartMusic!